Nicole Pyles, blogger for World of My Imagination is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

For writing, books, and everything else in my imagination.

23 March 2015

Inspired by a rainy March Monday morning, I decided to write my first normal blog post in a long time. I've been bogged down a lot lately by blogging to-do's and writing pursuits (which are going well!) and regular day-to-day blogging has taken a minor backseat. Until today!

So there are certain things that always tend to happen on a rainy day and a couple that have happened very recently. It's something about dreary days like today that bring out the bad crummy luck.

1) You miss your bus.

This happened this morning actually. Apparently my attempt at waving down the driver went unnoticed and I had to wait ten minutes for the next one. Sure, not terrible.

But I remember one year when it was in the teens here on a cold winter night my mom and I were trying to catch a bus home. Despite banging on the windows, the driver sped off, making us wait 30 minutes in really cold weather until we decided to just call a cab.

2) You slip and fall (into mud or dog poop).

Yes, ladies and gentleman. Two weeks ago, I missed the last step going down stairs outside of my apartment complex. This caused me to careen forward and fall right into dog poop a neighbor didn't pick up.

3) Your umbrella flips out.

This is a huge reason I don't like umbrellas and don't take them with me usually. I feel like such a dork when wind and rain pick up and the umbrella is flipping inside out.

4) You didn't wear warm enough shoes.

Sneakers aren't good rain wear. Neither are UGG boots actually. I think I need to invest in some decent looking rain boots because so far everything I wear in this weather isn't warm enough.

5) You have to use the bathroom. Really bad.

Isn't this always the case? Although I have no memorable stories behind this one, once I heard from this lady who said she was sitting at a bus stop and it started to rain really bad. She didn't have any coat or umbrella and had to use the bathroom too. With the bus not showing up, and the rain continuing she just decided to cry and wet her pants. Sometimes you just have to lean into the experience all the way.

But there are upsides to a rainy day, and despite the dreary commute, I do actually like rainy days. So to end this post on a high note, here is one of my favorite rainy day songs:

20 March 2015

I love when I read a book that brings me so emotionally connected to the character that I feel like I need to have a "Dr. Phil" type of intervention in order to set them straight. You will be rooting for Anna while you also are screaming at her to change her ways. At least that's how I was. It's sort of like when you're watching a horror movie and you just CANNOT believe they went into the house alone.

Intimate, intense, and written with the precision of a Swiss Army knife, Jill Alexander Essbaum’s debut novel is an unforgettable story of marriage, fidelity, sex, morality, and most especially self. Navigating the lines between lust and love, guilt and shame, excuses and reasons, Anna Benz is an electrifying heroine whose passions and choices readers will debate with recognition and fury. Her story reveals, with honesty and great beauty, how we create ourselves and how we lose ourselves and the sometimes disastrous choices we make to find ourselves.

What I Thought:
First, this book had excellent writing. The writer was able to create such a vivid scene. I had a bit of trouble with the occasional dutch-german words that were included, but once I got used to them being included in the book, I barely noticed them. I could immediately feel the misery of the main character and I really didn't like her at first. She was cheating on her husband with a variety of men, didn't seem to connect with her children, and she absolutely seemed miserable in the country she was in. After a while though I started feeling sorry for her and felt sympathetic to her despite her flaws. Her husband was obviously cold and even had bouts of violence against her. I even started rooting for her at some point to turn things around and improve her situation in some way - ANY WAY.

Then the ending came around. I absolutely hated the ending and left me feeling sad and miserable after finishing the book. I don't really want to give away what happens, but please be warned, this isn't a pleasant, breezy read. In fact, if you aren't in a great mood, this book won't improve things much for you.

The book delivered a powerful message, though. It was excellently written . The sexual content wasn't a huge part of the book, so if you are concerned about that, I didn't feel like it stood out. One part I really really liked and paid close attention to was that the main character had sessions with her therapist and these sessions were sprinkled throughout the book as real life happens. I loved how this was done - the sort of examination of her present experience and the issues she was having. Oh, if only she could have opened up to the therapist more, maybe it would have saved things.

Anyways, I rated this book four stars on GoodReads. I might have lowered the rating due to the ending but I thought the writer was very good at drawing me in and connecting me to a potentially unlikeable character. I didn't even like the woman at first and then by the end I'm rooting for her. So, how about that for good storytelling?

Best of all I get to giveaway a copy of this book to one lucky reader! All you need to do is leave a comment letting me know what about this book intrigues you. Make sure you leave your email address so I can contact you if you have won.

**I just pulled a random winner and am happy to announce William Kendall won! **

03 March 2015

First of all, I am happy to announce that the winner has been revealed for the iPad Mini! Congrats to Colleen B. for winning the prize!

Security and protecting myself from identity theft continues to be such an important factor in my life, especially as online security is more and more at risk. You just never know these days! To have security with programs like F-Secure Freedom at our side is such a great feeling. Just take a look at how many sites I was protected from just by using F-Secure Freedom App on my Windows Tablet!

Just like this video shows, you really don't know how at risk you are, especially when you are using public Wi-Fi. Watch this video to see just how easy it is to hack into a computer using public WiFi:

Isn't that frightening?? I couldn't believe it when I watched that.

Anyways, now is the time to take charge and give yourself an extra layer of protection.

With my link and code provided, I am happy to offer my readers a 90-Day FREE TRIAL to the Freedome Security App. Follow this link and use the code qsf257 for your free trial.

I received compensation for my posts with F-Secure. My opinions are 100% my own.

Did you know that approximately 200,000 people die every day across the world? That’s a lot of people if you ask me; a massive lot of individuals who have breathed their last breath, felt one last caress, and experienced their final moment within the epic journey known as life.

True, this reality does tend to lose its shrill and intense bearing the older we get and the more people we are forced to bury. Nonetheless, death is not something we ever get used to; not to the point where it does not have some effect on us. The question is – what effect will it have on you?

The answer depends largely on the individual who is fallen. On this wise, the deaths of those true heroes will always have immense effects on everyone in their world and the broader world we all share. Trust me; I could painlessly line up hundreds of men and women throughout history whose lives and contributions transcend their existence on the earth; whose teachings and examples continue to be celebrated and followed even unto this day.

The simple question I have for each reader is this: will you be part of this heroic cast of characters when the days of your sojourning on earth are fulfilled? Or allow me to ask it this way: will you gain the power to realize the profound ripple effect that onw man or woman can have when they dedicate themselves to fulfilling their purpose?

IMPACT
If you answered yes, then I’ve got good news for you – I can help you in this grand endeavor. See I’ve ruminated on this prospect in my life and have come to the following conclusion:

The enduring value of my life will not be measured by what I got out of it, but rather by how much I gave of myself – and in giving, how many lives for the better were changed.

For this cause, I sought to craft a formula which would allow me and those like me (who would rise to the highest callings in life) to have the greatest impact we could possibly have – and I did. It is a combination of 6 unique steps which, if followed sequentially, will ensure that neither your life nor your death are without profound meaning and enduring value.

Appropriately this formula is based on the acronym IMPACT and includes the following steps:

· Inspire
· Mature
· Purpose
· Achieve
· Contribute
· Transfer

Inspire
Visibly the first step is inspiration, for we will hardly do anything of value or requiring reckonable measures of labor if we are not first inspired to do so. This speaks to a crucial aspect of human nature; specifically our individual inspiration is generally contingent to the value we perceive is attached to that which we are to pursue. If it’s a high value, well then hello inspiration! If it’s not, then you’re better off letting someone else do the job because you’re either not going to get it done or you’re not going to do it well.

Now the key to inspiration is understanding the source, for there are many impulses and stimuli which are neither positive nor progressive. Consequently, if we are going to have a true and lasting impact on our world and the world we share, we must not only be inspired. The source of our inspiration must be positive progressive causes.

Less the world remembers us as villains as opposed to true heroes and heroines.

Mature

Upon being inspired, we must follow all the natural processes of maturation (i.e. the 2nd step in the process). These include a wide variety of personal developments (e.g. emotional, physical, and spiritual) which allow us to increase the breadth of our potential. This is critical because an immature person will fail to cash in on their aspirations simply because they have not ascended to a place where they can execute with any quantifiable measures of relevance or proficiency. They simply don’t know how. Thus it is incumbent upon each of us to follow every natural process of growth; else we find ourselves with a surplus of inspiration and a shortfall of realization.

Purpose
Next, and perhaps the most obvious, we must understand our purpose in life. Here’s why:

It is impossible to have a lasting impact on others if you are living outside of your purpose.

This shouldn’t be too hard to understand. For example, my car keys are only useful to me as a means to start or unlock my car. They have no impact outside of this distinct function, for they serve no other purpose. As such, the only impact they can have in my life is by successfully starting or unlocking my car.

True, this is a much simpler example than the complex network of callings and purpose of the billions of men and women presently cohabiting the world. Still the underlying principle holds true. We are all here for a reason and have been uniquely designed to achieve specific objectives and goals in our lives – and if these are fulfilled, we will assuredly have a tremendous impact on everyone we meet and many who we have never met.

Achieve
This speaks to the next step in the process; that is achievement, the certain conclusion of purpose. This truism lends itself to the question – if you have fulfilled your days and, simultaneously, failed to fulfill your purpose, then what you have really done? What have you accomplished? What have you achieved?

On the scale of impact, you haven’t accomplished too much – and what you have accomplished will not last, for it (like you) will be both scarcely and vaguely remembered; simply because it was all executed without an authentic purpose. Thus it does not endure.

Contribute
Achievement, then, leads to contribution. It’s as natural as the dawn of the morning, and the evening when shadows fall. Here’s why: our greatest achievements are not executed for the betterment of ourselves or a small group; rather they are the amazing results of an authentic desire to improve the lives of all men and women everywhere.
In this order, we must not only be willing to contribute to the brotherhood of man; contributing on this pervasive scale should be our focus. It’s like I always say – the best kind of business is the business of helping others; but you will never know it until you try it.

Transfer
Lastly we must willingly and effectively transfer our legacies to those we are leaving behind. This is critical for the following cause:

We diminish the power of our legacy by foolishly trying to hold onto it.

In spite of this fact, you will find countless men and women more concerned about making a name for themselves than ensuring that their works have redeeming value. What these fail to realize is that there is no better way to realize the redeeming value of our works than by transferring our legacies (in their currency) to others while we are yet living. This act elevates the work (which has the potential to be eternal) above the individual (which has no potential but to be temporary), and positions it to be carried on successfully for generations to come.

To Be Never Broken Again
This brings me to the conclusion of the process and this matter; explicitly this:

The legacy we leave behind after we are gone is contingent to the impact we have on others while we are yet alive.

So take my advice and don’t be as those vain men with questionable motives, whose works are of selfish reasons and enduring no longer than a season. Their impact is at first negligible, and then silently non-existent.

Instead you be as those men and women of renown, who realized that they were merely individual yet united links in the infinite chain of humanity – and that their lives were nothing more than a unique opportunity to effectively strengthen the chain, and to ensure that one day the circle of all life would be restored to be never broken again.

Here’s a question I have for each reader: are you living your life with purpose and having a positive progressive impact in all the offices and groups you are a part of? Or are you being negatively impacted by adverse realities and occasions, and positioning yourself to be all but forgotten the moment you are gone?

Or maybe you’re somewhere in between and ultimately aren’t living as impactful a life as you desire to lead. In each occasion, I would recommend that you visit us at Life Pinnacles, for our reason for existing is to have positive progressive impacts in as many lives as possible – and our mission is to help others as they work towards fulfilling the same cause in their lives.

If you decide to join us, you will receive access to my very first admission in my “Declarations of Independence” series, a compilation of short works dedicated to illuminating man’s search for fulfillment, and independence from all those things which are preventing him from finding it.

D. L. Anderson is a speaker and life trainer whose goals are centered on helping others live a life of purpose, excellence, and balance. Drawing on 15+ years of experience in various fields including information technology, consulting, and business management, D. L. Anderson is very excited to be able to effectively teach others the same principles which have made his life both fulfilling and successful.